ActoBiotics for Type 1 Diabetes
Type 1 Diabetes (T1D)
Formerly called juvenile diabetes or insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM), T1D accounts for 5% of diabetic cases. Patients can no longer produce their own insulin either as a result of the destruction of the patient’s β-islet cells of the pancreas by autoreactive T-cells or due to the neutralizing effect of auto-antibodies directed against insulin. The only treatment option today is insulin replacement.
ActoBiotics for Type 1 Diabetes
ActoGeniX developed an ActoBiotic™ capable of delivering pro-insulin and IL10 in the gut, showing a restoration of antigen-specific, long-term tolerance and reversal of diabetes in NOD mice, combined with low-dose anti-CD3. Mechanistically, this intervention approach increases local regulatory T-cell frequencies which proliferate in the pancreatic islets and suppress the auto-immune reaction in an antigen-specific way.
Market
The worldwide prevalence for T1D was 194 million patients in 2003 and will rise to an estimated 330 million people by 2025. In 2007, the global anti-diabetes drug market accounted for $24.1 billion and is expected to have 15-20% growth in the future. The ActoBiotics™ approach developed by ActoGeniX could potentially be the first intervention for newly diagnosed T1D patients, resulting in a complete reversal of the disease.
Partnership
ActoGeniX is looking for partners with a focus on diabetes to bring this product into clinical development.